Excellent outcomes were achieved with spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for 7 to 10 days on 2 patients who developed postherpetic neuralgia. Both patients were within 2 to 3 months of the onset of the condition, and nerve blocks provided only temporary pain relief and drug therapies had poor efficacy. The authors believe that limited-duration SCS for subacute postherpetic neuralgia is a useful treatment approach that may prevent the pain from progressing to chronic postherpetic neuralgia.
Aged ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; methods ; Female ; Herpes Zoster ; complications ; Humans ; Neuralgia, Postherpetic ; etiology ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Pain, Intractable ; therapy ; Spinal Cord ; physiology

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of cyst ablation with absolute ethanol in autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients with symptomatic cysts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using absolute ethanol, cyst ablation was performed in 11 patients with documented ADPKD who suffered cyst pain refractory to medical treatment. An ethanol solution was instilled into the largest symptomatic cysts through a catheter. We assessed the therapeutic efficacy of the procedure by tracking subjective pain relief during a 3 to 24-month follow-up period after ablation. RESULTS: At follow-up, we found that the duration of subjective pain relief was 12 to 24 months in seven patients, 4 to11 months in one, and less than 3 months in three. CONCLUSION: Selective ablation of a symptomatic cyst may be a valid option in managing chronic pain caused by one or a few large cysts in ADPKD patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Contrast Media/administration & dosage ; Ethanol/*therapeutic use ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Human ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain, Intractable/etiology/physiopathology/*therapy ; Palliative Care/methods ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant/physiopathology/radiography/*therapy ; Sclerotherapy/*methods ; Solvents/therapeutic use ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome